Roman Lamp with Swans' Heads in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Lamp with Swans' Heads
Roman, AD 1-100
Bronze

Inventory # 81.AQ.67

Roman houses often had rooms without windows. Illumination was often provided by lamps, usually made of terracotta, that produced light by burning oil with a wick in the spout. Bronze lamps were more durable and luxurious than terracotta ones, and the nonporous material kept oil from seeping through the body of the container. Some lamps were designed to be placed on or hung from candelabra (lamp stands).

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.